Fernando Arellano Martín, Pedro Pablo Rosado Guerrero, Yameli G. Aguilar Duarte, Mario S. Durán Castillo, Francisco Montoya Reyes, Óscar E. Verduzco Salazar, Matilde Cortazar Ríos,
2023
Memorias de congresos
Coconut plantations differ 69% with semi-evergreen tropical forest in their tree composition after seven to 11 years of abandonment
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CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA
BOTANICA
ECOLOGIA VEGETAL
It has been argued that the abandonment of coconut plantations without removal of palms is a better strategy for restoration than clearcutting the palms and planting seedlings of native trees. Therefore, we estimated tree species richness, diversity and composition in coconut plantations with seven to 11 years of abandonment, and compared their values with those observed in semi-evergreen tropical forest. We established 10 sampling plots with an area of 400 m2 each, five in abandoned coconut plantations and five in semi-evergreen tropical forest. Inside each plot we counted all trees with a diameter at breast height of at least 7.5 cm, and identified to which species they belonged. Afterwards, we calculated tree species richness, and Shannon-Weiner and Simpson?s Dominance diversity indices for each plot. Subsequently, using t-tests, we compared abandoned coconut plantations and semi-evergreen tropical forest regarding their tree species richness and diversity. Moreover, we estimated the importance values for each species observed in each vegetation type and calculated the percentage difference index between both. We observed 46 tree species; 29 in abandoned coconut plantations and 39 in semi-evergreen tropical forest. Nine species were exclusive of abandoned coconut plantations, and 18 were recorded solely in semi-evergreen tropical forest. Mean tree species richness (16.8 vs 10.2) and Shannon-Weiner diversity (2.51 vs 1.82) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in semi-evergreen tropical forest (16.8 species) than in coconut plantations. The percentage difference for tree composition between vegetation types was of 69%. The most important species in coconut plantations were Piscidia piscipula, Brosimum alicastrum, and Bursera simaruba, while the most important in semi-evergreen tropical forest were Pouteria campechiana, Bursera simaruba, and Spondias mombin. Although there is some recovery of natural vegetation in the abandoned coconut plantations, planting individuals of rare species could enhance the restoration of these degraded areas.
Archivo Personal Fernando Arellano Martín
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